₦airaland Forum

Well, without sounding pessimistic, I fail to see the relevance of a change of name. Maybe, it is just the beginning but I will only be impressed once operations begin and the feedback from the public re service, efficiency, value for money, safety etc is very good.

Not jumping out of my seat yet but not closed my mind to the potential positives either. Lets wait and see,

@Ahononai

It seems your matter is very complicated and in light of what you have just said. It will be very difficult for you to get them to give you a visa to visit, let alone study. I say this because If you do not sort out the current refusals and ban based on the visitor's visa, you have no chance of being granted a visa to study masters. If you apply for masters now, you are most likely to be refused on the initial basis that you have tried and failed in your visitor application and now you want to try for masters.

You best bet is what I have suggested, You need to have your say again at the AIT(though your brother's previous issue with the AIT does not help). This will give you a chance to set the record straight. In Deception matters, the rule is "he who alleges proves". It is up to the HO to prove (by way of expert evidence etc) that your documents etc is fake or that you have used deception. If they cant prove it then they have no case and the AIT will not be willing to allow a ban of 10 years just on a hunch or circumstantial evidence.

However, you may choose to apply for masters anyway(bound to be refused due to the ban), this will generate another right of appeal and you can then have your day in court. I am afraid, there appears to be so much inconsistencies in this case that you have to be prepared for a battle.

Alternatively, do nothing and wait the 10 years,

@mix4oxley

Erico2k2 is right, lodge the appeal and let your sponsor attend to confirm that they called him and this is what he/she said. You cannot introduce new evidence on appeal. The judge will only consider evidence available at the date of the decision(evidence before the ECO at the time) not after the decision.

Good luck

@Ahonohai

In order to get another appeal, you may have to lodge another application, which is bound to be automatically refused due to the 10 year ban but will generate another right of appeal. You will then have another opportunity to defend the allegation at the AIT. From your story, it seems you will have a tough fight as everything seems to involve "conflicting information", they call it deception.
Good luck sha.

well, i reserve my opinion on arik, due to fly them to Niger for Christmas(been hearing good reviews). Will give my feedback then.

As for Bellview, majority of the feedback has been negative so I am not intertested at all.

there you go poster, you've been told. Its amazing that some of us still exhibit this "bribery solves all" mentality. Lets stop it. Do things right and stop cutting corners. If we all did the right thing(we all know the rules both here(UK) and in Niger) our country will begin to change. Do not tolerate or encourage bribery I say, I know its easier said than done but we can start somewhere.

@aysometin

I agree with justwise, what if Heathrow have a record of you leaving through your ticket at check in(this is on the premise that you use your real name). It can be linked. Regardless of what is being done. My advise is to err on the side of caution. Things have changed and will continue to change. HO is tightening up,some may still slip through the net, but better safe than sorry.

one more thing Emuche, with regards whether he has overstayed, your lawyer may know more because he has the file. My take on it is that if his first application was refused due to the wrong form and it may well be that he was given a 28 day period to resubmit and it was during this time that he made the Tier 2 application, his previous leave should continue from then on.

He may have overstayed from the refusal of the Tier 2 application as no appeal was lodged(or he was not given a right of appeal). If your lawyer is saying he has not overstayed, okay, best to leave voluntarily then and apply in Niger. As said earlier, if your lawyer has advised to JR, it will cost money and from what you have said, may lose and you will be back to square 1 with a lighter purse.

good luck my dear

You are welcome Emuche.

My knowledge of this is from a mixed bag of sources really. Justwise is right to a certain extent that most of the information can be obtained from the UKBA website and the guidance notes for the forms but you need more to be able to read the law in conjunction with the procedure.And in some cases where the rules have been interpreted wrongly and problems ensues, you need a good lawyer to advise you properly.

Good luck and I hope it all goes well for you and your fiance

@ Jaffa

It appears that you can appeal this decision because from your answers, the refusal is not justified(unless there are other reasons given for the refusal). Given that your course starts on 21 Sep and an appeal will most definitely take months to sort out, why dont you try writing to the senior entry clearance officer asking for a review(it does help sometimes).

I believe as a student, you have to have to show that you have held the money for at least 28 days. The end of that 28 day period must not be more than one month before the date of your application. The money you need to show covers your course fees for your first year of study and living costs for up to a maximum of nine months. The amount you will need depends on whether you are applying as a child or adult and whether you are studying in inner or outer London. I believe luton is outer London so you will need to have £600 a month(for at least 4 months, more to be on the safer side).

So if you add your school fees of one year(£) plus living costs of say 6 months(£3,600) and the figure was in your account for up to 28 days (to be on the safe side, before you made your application), then you may have a good ground for review or appeal. Review may be quicker if you carefully point out the figures against the criteria and you meet them.

If on checking, it appears you do not have enough, that means the refusal decision was correct, then you may need to consider deferring your admission and apply again later.

Sorry I referred to you earlier as Eluche.

Eluche

If he has not overstayed(i am afraid it appears he has, the date will be the date his last leave expired or from the date of the last refusal since he was not given a right of appeal), then he stands a better chance in any future application. The problem he is likely to face is that there will be presumption from the outset that your marriage is not genuine when you make the application in Naija because his previous leave in the UK was as a student, he was refused etcccccc. So they are bound to think that he only got married to able to return to the UK. It is up to you to rebut that presumption by putting all documents, pictures etc possible to support your application, overdocument if possible.

If you decide that he goes back, dont leave it too long as the longer he overstays, the more difficult it will be for you when you come to appeal any refusal in the future.overstaying by one day may be justified on appeal but the longer it goes on, the bigger the hurdle.

The normal process is that you book the ticket, let them know and they will have his passport ready for him at the airport and serve him with the necessary papers before he boards the plane-I am afraid it is looking like he has overstayed but it is all about damage limitation now my dear.

Sorry you have to make this decision but the lesser of the two evils is best in the long run.

@ Eluche

It appears that he has overstayed and it will help his case in the future if he books his ticket and leaves voluntarily. With regards the Lawyer, obviously he /she will have all the documents and facts better than me so will be in a stronger position to advise. My opinion is based on what you have said so far.

Have you tried getting a second opinion from another lawyer?

@ Jaffa

The problem appears to be in the maintenance section. You were not awarded any points because from the ECo comments, it appears that there were not sufficient funds in your account. Not very clear from your extract. How much was your course fees or balance to be paid? how much did you need for accommodation? It refers to British pound of £9900 & £12,800 equivalent in your naija account.

@ Emuche

Hi Emuche

Judicial Review is a remedy of last resort and challenges a decision that is unlawful i.e not in accordance with the Law or there has been an error in law. If you successful challenge by judicial review, the court can only conclude that there was an error of law in the HO's decision and they should go away and remake it, normally to a positive decision. If you are not successful, the court will just say that the HO 's decsion is not unlawful and you have no further basis to remain in the UK.

From what you have said, you should have been given a 28 day grace to resubmit his first application while they retain the fee. If after this period, your fiance did not resubmit the form, then his fee will have been refunded and any future applications refused on the basis that it was made out of time and he no longer has any leave to remain in the UK(any period after which, he will be considered an overstayer). However you mention that he resubmitted and was also refused because he did not meet maintenance requirement, if this was also a reason then you cannot argue that the decision was unlawful because it was made in accordance with published requirements. On this basis, the decision of the HO does not appear unlawful. I stand to be corrected if you clarify the position further.

Again with regards the application under Tier 2, the application guidance clearly lists what the requirements are and unfortunately your fiance appears not to have met the criteria. The HO decision on the face of it does not appear unlawful.

It does appear that your fiance may have overstayed by now. If he has not overstayed yet, applying for judicial review(has to be made within 3 months of the decision to refuse) may buy him time but chances are it may fail, by which time, he may have overstayed. If he overstays, the option of going to Naija to get married and apply will be risky as he may be refused entry clearance for settlement because he overstayed during his previous visit to the UK. You may be able to appeal it and then you may win but just be prepared for that possibility.

My opinion is that if you judicial review, you are just prolonging your problem as based on what you have said(unless there is more), your judicial review application is likely to fail, you would have paid solicitors and have the court award cost against you(for being the losing party) thereby losing money. I pray that by now your fiance has not overstayed, if he has then it will be better to go to Nigeria and do the marriage and apply but be prepared to fight any refusal and this may mean your fiance being in Niger for longer than expected. If he has not overstayed, the best option again is to go back now, get married and apply-you will stand a better chance of getting the settlement visa. However be aware that because of his previous history, they may think your marriage is not for real so make sure your application is backed up with loads of supporting documents to prove your relationship is genuine.

I hope this helps you weigh up the pros and cons so that you can make a decision but as you said what is crucial is that you do not jeopardise his record over here by overstaying---totally agree with that.

Good luck

Hi Emuche

Judicial Review is a remedy of last resort and challenges a decision that is unlawful i.e not in accordance with the Law or there has been an error in law. If you successful challenge by judicial review, the court can only conclude that there was an error of law in the HO's decision and they should go away and remake it, normally to a positive decision. If you are not successful, the court will just say that the HO 's decsion is not unlawful and you have no further basis to remain in the UK.

From what you have said, you should have been given a 28 day grace to resubmit his first application while they retain the fee. If after this period, your fiance did not resubmit the form, then his fee will have been refunded and any future applications refused on the basis that it was made out of time and he no longer has any leave to remain in the UK(any period after which, he will be considered an overstayer). However you mention that he resubmitted and was also refused because he did not meet maintenance requirement, if this was also a reason then you cannot argue that the decision was unlawful because it was made in accordance with published requirements. On this basis, the decision of the HO does not appear unlawful. I stand to be corrected if you clarify the position further.

Again with regards the application under Tier 2, the application guidance clearly lists what the requirements are and unfortunately your fiance appears not to have met the criteria. The HO decision on the face of it does not appear unlawful.

It does appear that your fiance may have overstayed by now. If he has not overstayed yet, applying for judicial review(has to be made within 3 months of the decision to refuse) may buy him time but chances are it may fail, by which time, he may have overstayed. If he overstays, the option of going to Naija to get married and apply will be risky as he may be refused entry clearance for settlement because he overstayed during his previous visit to the UK. You may be able to appeal it and then you may win but just be prepared for that possibility.

My opinion is that if you judicial review, you are just prolonging your problem as based on what you have said(unless there is more), your judicial review application is likely to fail, you would have paid solicitors and have the court award cost against you(for being the losing party) thereby losing money. I pray that by now your fiance has not overstayed, if he has then it will be better to go to Nigeria and do the marriage and apply but be prepared to fight any refusal and this may mean your fiance being in Niger for longer than expected. If he has not overstayed, the best option again is to go back now, get married and apply-you will stand a better chance of getting the settlement visa. However be aware that because of his previous history, they may think your marriage is not for real so make sure your application is backed up with loads of supporting documents to prove your relationship is genuine.

I hope this helps you weigh up the pros and cons so that you can make a decision but as you said what is crucial is that you do not jeopardise his record over here by overstaying---totally agree with that.

Good luck